NASA discovers 6 new planets outside solar system in a giant development

  

NASA, the American space research organization, has discovered six new planets in space. These planets are located outside our solar system, bringing the total number of exoplanets (planets outside our solar system) to 5,502. Scientists consider this number significant for understanding the universe beyond Earth, as the search for potential extraterrestrial life is a complex task, and the increasing number of known exoplanets demonstrates this challenge.

Thirty-one years ago, in 1992, scientists first discovered planets outside our solar system. The twin planets Poltergeist and Phobetor were found orbiting the pulsar PSR B1257. In March 2022, the number of discovered exoplanets reached the milestone of 5,000. Now, that number has grown further.

NASA has identified the six new planets as HD 3638 b, TOI-198 b, TOI-2095 c, TOI-4860 b, and MWC 758 c. They provided detailed descriptions of each planet:

- **HD 36384 b:** Referred to as a Super Jupiter, this planet orbits an M Giant Star, which is 40 times larger than our Sun.

- **TOI-198 b:** A rocky planet that orbits an M Dwarf star.

- **TOI-2095 b and TOI-2095 c:** Both are Super Earths orbiting an M Dwarf star. Their positions relative to the star make them similar in character to Venus and Earth.

- **TOI-4860 b:** A gas giant similar to Jupiter, known as a 'Hot Jupiter.' It orbits an M Dwarf star in just 1.52 days, indicating its close proximity to the star. The presence of such a large planet so close to a dwarf star is considered rare.

- **MWC 758 c:** A large protoplanet orbiting a young star that still has a surrounding gas disk. This is the first time a planet has been found within a protoplanetary disk outside our solar system.

NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) was launched in 2018 and has identified thousands of cosmic objects as exoplanets, with 320 of them confirmed. NASA's Spitzer, Hubble, and James Webb Space Telescopes are also involved in the discovery and observation of exoplanets. Additionally, NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is scheduled for launch in May 2027.